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Geek Time with Peter Brown

Friday, December 17, 2010

When the Free Software Foundation’s executive director, Peter Brown, visited the Google offices last week, he graciously offered his time for an interview with Samba co-founder and Open Source Programs Office team member Jeremy Allison. Peter and Jeremy spoke for quite a while about several of the hot topics facing free software today. Some highlights of their conversation include:

• A brief history of the free software movement (0:14)• The difference between open source and free software (4:12),• The importance of specifying “GNU/Linux” when referring to the first fully free operating system (7:42),• Linux Libre, a fully free kernel distribution, including the drivers (12:29)• The Free Software Foundation’s hardware endorsement program, Respects Your Freedom (13:54)• Unexpected places that free software is appearing around the world (18:42)• Peter’s career with the Free Software Foundation (20:50).• Ways that non-programmers can get involved and support the free software movement (26:23)

Throughout the conversation, both Jeremy and Peter provide fascinating anecdotes about ways that free software is shaping society. The video is an effective introduction to software freedom for those who have just discovered the concept, but it's also a great way for everyone to learn more about free software.